Scorpion (CBS, Mondays, 9/8C) returns with a new Director of Homeland Security, Adriana Molina (Alana De La Garza), a slightly wonky Walter (Elyes Gabel) and a mission that cannot afford to be messed up. One slip and 10,000,000 lives are lost.
So, business as usual then.
Satellite of Love is appropriately named – both Walter and Paige (Katharine McPhee) have secrets to be revealed: she tells him that she kissed him while he was unconscious in the hospital and he… well, he doesn’t tell her about something and it is revealed at the most inappropriate possible moment.
In fact, Satellite of Love is full of weirdness – at least as far as Team Scorpion is concerned. Sylvester (Ari Stridham) makes seemingly incorrect calculations; Toby (Eddie Kaye Thomas) almost screws up a potential international crisis in the Russian Embassy before Happy (Jadyn Wong) bails him out, and the Director of Homeland chews a strip off POTUS.
This is not only a high energy return for Scorpion, it may be the wittiest episode to date – and that’s saying something. Key line, ‘Walter, let’s talk about after the A-bomb.’
Also fun: Team Scorpion has to go to Plan C and D. Talk about improv under pressure!
Writers Nick Santora and Nicholas Wooten give us a fun look at Team Scorpion’s post-firing lives – Cabe’s working as a consultant on a movie (starring a full of himself Gene Simmons), Paige is having nightmares about being a waitress again, and so on.
Then they bring in the reinstatement with style and wit and director Sam Hill propels the ep through several plan changes and personal mini-crises. Kaye and Wong are in especially fine form here.
Somehow, Scorpion continues to make typing sexy – mostly by cutting to Team Scorpion personnel in awkward physical action (Walter and Paige hanging from a weather balloon!) Woot!) and showing the way the team functions by combining their special skills in less than obvious ways.
Satellite of Love definitely sets up some fun possibilities to be explored over the course of season two. As long as Walter doesn’t run a hot car off the road, again, things are looking pretty good for the team.
Final Grade: A-